U.S. patent application number 15/061892 was filed with the patent office on 2016-09-08 for system for providing internet access using mobile phones.
The applicant listed for this patent is Nextivity, Inc.. Invention is credited to Michiel Petrus Lotter, Joseph Barry Schmeizer, Werner Richard Sievers.
Application Number | 20160262192 15/061892 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 56851148 |
Filed Date | 2016-09-08 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160262192 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Sievers; Werner Richard ; et
al. |
September 8, 2016 |
System for Providing Internet Access Using Mobile Phones
Abstract
A system and method for providing internet access using mobile
devices is disclosed. A gateway/router device of a local
environment selects at least one mobile device located within the
local environment, the selecting being based on the at least one
mobile device having a wireless connection to the internet. The
gateway/router device established a local connection with the
selected at least one mobile device, the local connection for
communicating data signals between the at least one mobile device
and the gateway/router device on a first hop, and for communicating
the data signals between the selected at least one mobile device
and the internet on a second hop via the wireless connection
between the at least one mobile device and the internet. The
gateway/router device communicates the data signals between at
least one other internet-enabled device within the local
environment.
Inventors: |
Sievers; Werner Richard;
(Poway, CA) ; Schmeizer; Joseph Barry; (San Diego,
CA) ; Lotter; Michiel Petrus; (San Diego,
CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Nextivity, Inc. |
San Diego |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
56851148 |
Appl. No.: |
15/061892 |
Filed: |
March 4, 2016 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
62128332 |
Mar 4, 2015 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W 40/34 20130101;
H04L 45/245 20130101; H04W 88/06 20130101; H04W 88/16 20130101;
H04L 45/28 20130101; H04W 88/04 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04W 76/02 20060101
H04W076/02 |
Claims
1. A method for providing internet access using mobile devices, the
method comprising: selecting, by a gateway/router device of a local
environment, at least one mobile device located within the local
environment, the selecting being based on the at least one mobile
device having a wireless connection to the internet; establishing,
by the gateway/router device, a local connection with the selected
at least one mobile device, the local connection for communicating
data signals between the at least one mobile device and the
gateway/router device on a first hop, and for communicating the
data signals between the selected at least one mobile device and
the internet on a second hop via the wireless connection between
the at least one mobile device and the internet; and communicating,
by the gateway/router device, the data signals between at least one
other internet-enabled device within the local environment.
2. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the wireless
connection to the internet by the selected at least one mobile
device is a cellular data connection.
3. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the local
connection with the selected at least one mobile device is a
wireless data connection.
4. The method in accordance with claim 3, wherein the wireless data
connection is one of a WIFI connection and a Bluetooth
connection.
5. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein communicating the
data signals between the at least one other internet-enabled device
within the local environment is via a second wireless connection
between the gateway/router device the at least one other
internet-enabled device within the local environment.
6. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein communicating the
data signals between the at least one other internet-enabled device
within the local environment is by a wired connection between the
gateway/router device the at least one other internet-enabled
device within the local environment.
7. A system for providing internet access using mobile devices, the
system comprising: a gateway/router device that services a local
environment, the gateway/router device selecting at least one
mobile device located within the local environment, the selecting
being based on the at least one mobile device having a wireless
connection to the internet; a first local connection from the
gateway/router device for communicating with the selected at least
one mobile device, the first local connection for communicating
data signals between the at least one mobile device and the
gateway/router device on a first hop, and for communicating the
data signals between the selected at least one mobile device and
the internet on a second hop via the wireless connection between
the at least one mobile device and the internet; and a second local
connection from the gateway/router device for communicating with at
least one other internet-enabled device, and for communicating the
data signals between at least one other internet-enabled device
within the local environment.
8. The system in accordance with claim 7, wherein the wireless
connection to the internet by the selected at least one mobile
device is a cellular data connection.
9. The system in accordance with claim 7, wherein the local
connection with the selected at least one mobile device is a
wireless data connection.
10. The system in accordance with claim 9, wherein the wireless
data connection is one of a WIFI connection and a Bluetooth
connection.
11. The system in accordance with claim 7, wherein communicating
the data signals between the at least one other internet-enabled
device within the local environment is via a second wireless
connection between the gateway/router device the at least one other
internet-enabled device within the local environment.
12. The system in accordance with claim 7, wherein communicating
the data signals between the at least one other internet-enabled
device within the local environment is by a wired connection
between the gateway/router device the at least one other
internet-enabled device within the local environment.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S.
Provisional Patent Application No. 62/128,332, filed on Mar. 4,
2015 and titled "System for Providing Internet Access Using Mobile
Phones," the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference in
its entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The subject matter described herein relates to wireless
networks, and more particularly to a system and method for
providing internet access using mobile phones.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Internet access at home or in a small business environment
today is not a luxury but a necessity. Such internet access is
mainly provided by means such as Cable Modems, xDSL links or
Fiber-to-the-Home connections. These connections provide high speed
access with high availability. However, these connections are not
of the same quality as corporate managed connections and they can
and do fail, leaving the home or small business without an internet
connection.
[0004] A typical home or small business network setup 100 is shown
in FIG. 1. The setup 100 includes a home Gateway or Router 102 that
is connected to the Internet 104 via a primary fixed line
connection 106. The Gateway or Router 102 in turn connects with a
variety of Internet-enabled devices 112 such as mobile phones,
laptop computers, desktop computers, printers, etc., via at least
one of a wireless connection 110 and/or fixed wired connection
108.
[0005] In addition to getting internet access via the fixed
connections outlined above, most consumers today also access the
internet using their mobile telephones or smartphones. New
technologies such as LTE can indeed provide extremely fast
connections to the internet, sometimes even rivaling fixed line
connections. As the mobile network is independent of the fixed line
network typically providing internet access at a residence or small
business it is likely that when the fixed line internet connection
fails, mobile internet connections would still be operational.
SUMMARY
[0006] In this invention disclosure, a system is foreseen where a
router or similar device in a home would normally be connected to
the internet via a fixed line connection, but when the fixed line
connection fails, it uses the mobile phones of the residents in the
home as a backup internet connection.
[0007] In one aspect, a network setup, and method of operating the
same, uses a mobile phone as a backup internet connection. In other
aspects, multiple mobile phones can be used as a backup internet
connection. In yet another aspect, a network setup, and method for
operating the same, uses channel bonding for increased
throughput.
[0008] In another aspect, a method for providing internet access
using mobile devices is presented. The method includes selecting,
by a gateway/router device of a local environment, at least one
mobile device located within the local environment. The selecting
is based on the at least one mobile device having a wireless
connection to the internet. The method further includes
establishing, by the gateway/router device, a local connection with
the selected at least one mobile device. The local connection is
for communicating data signals between the at least one mobile
device and the gateway/router device on a first hop, and for
communicating the data signals between the selected at least one
mobile device and the internet on a second hop via the wireless
connection between the at least one mobile device and the internet.
The method further includes communicating, by the gateway/router
device, the data signals between at least one other
internet-enabled device within the local environment.
[0009] In yet another aspect, a system for providing internet
access using mobile devices is presented. The system includes a
gateway/router device that services a local environment. The
gateway/router device includes logic for selecting at least one
mobile device located within the local environment, the selecting
being based on the at least one mobile device having a wireless
connection to the internet. The system further includes a first
local connection from the gateway/router device for communicating
with the selected at least one mobile device, the first local
connection for communicating data signals between the at least one
mobile device and the gateway/router device on a first hop, and for
communicating the data signals between the selected at least one
mobile device and the internet on a second hop via the wireless
connection between the at least one mobile device and the internet.
The system further includes a second local connection from the
gateway/router device for communicating with at least one other
internet-enabled device, and for communicating the data signals
between at least one other internet-enabled device within the local
environment.
[0010] Implementations of the current subject matter can include,
but are not limited to, systems and methods consistent including
one or more features are described as well as articles that
comprise a tangibly embodied machine-readable medium operable to
cause one or more machines (e.g., computers, etc.) to result in
operations described herein. Similarly, computer systems are also
described that may include one or more processors and one or more
memories coupled to the one or more processors. A memory, which can
include a computer-readable storage medium, may include, encode,
store, or the like one or more programs that cause one or more
processors to perform one or more of the operations described
herein. Computer implemented methods consistent with one or more
implementations of the current subject matter can be implemented by
one or more data processors residing in a single computing system
or multiple computing systems. Such multiple computing systems can
be connected and can exchange data and/or commands or other
instructions or the like via one or more connections, including but
not limited to a connection over a network (e.g. the Internet, a
wireless wide area network, a local area network, a wide area
network, a wired network, or the like), via a direct connection
between one or more of the multiple computing systems, etc.
[0011] The details of one or more variations of the subject matter
described herein are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the
description below. Other features and advantages of the subject
matter described herein will be apparent from the description and
drawings, and from the claims. While certain features of the
currently disclosed subject matter are described for illustrative
purposes in relation to an enterprise resource software system or
other business software solution or architecture, it should be
readily understood that such features are not intended to be
limiting. The claims that follow this disclosure are intended to
define the scope of the protected subject matter.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0012] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and
constitute a part of this specification, show certain aspects of
the subject matter disclosed herein and, together with the
description, help explain some of the principles associated with
the disclosed implementations. In the drawings,
[0013] FIG. 1 shows a typical home or small business network
setup;
[0014] FIG. 2 illustrates a network setup using a mobile phone as a
backup internet connection.
[0015] FIG. 3 illustrates a network setup using multiple mobile
phones as a backup internet connection.
[0016] FIG. 4 illustrates a network setup using channel bonding for
increased throughput.
[0017] When practical, similar reference numbers denote similar
structures, features, or elements.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0018] This document discloses a system and method in which a
router or similar device in a home would normally be connected to
the internet via a fixed line connection, but when the fixed line
connection fails, it uses the mobile phones of the residents in the
home as a backup internet connection. This is different from
established prior art that would have a dedicated cellular backhaul
connection that can be used as an internet connection in case a
fixed line connection fails.
[0019] In accordance with some implementations, a system 200 for
executing a method is shown in FIG. 2. The system 200 includes a
home Gateway or Router 202 that is typically connected to the
Internet 204 via a primary fixed line connection 206. The Gateway
or Router 202 ("router") in turn connects with a variety of
Internet-enabled devices 212 such as mobile phones, laptop
computers, desktop computers, printers, etc., via at least one of
one or more wireless connections and/or fixed wired connections
208
[0020] As shown in FIG. 2, Link 1 represents a link between a
selected mobile device 214 in the home and the router 202 in which
the backhaul, primary fixed line connection 206 has failed. The
selected mobile device 214 can be a mobile or cellular phone, a
laptop computer, a tablet computer, or the like. Link 1 can be a
wireless link such as WiFi or Bluetooth, or could even be a
physical link such as a USB cable. Link 2 represents the selected
mobile device's 214 link to the Internet 204 via a cellular phone
network. Link 3 represents the local links between the router and
local Internet-enabled devices 212 using internet services via the
home gateway or router 202. Link 3 can be wired, wireless or any
combination thereof.
[0021] In some implementations, the Gateway or Router 202 will
normally access the internet via the fixed line connection 206.
When this link goes down, the Gateway or Router 202 will search for
a nearby mobile device to select and connect to in order to set up
Link 1. Once the selected mobile device 214 is selected, Link 1 has
been established, the router will send all internet traffic
received on Link 3 onto Link 1 to the mobile device, which in turn
provides the backhaul access. The selected mobile device 214 will
then send all information received on Link 1 to the Internet 204
via Link 2. The reverse process would happen for information
received from Link 2 destined for the Gateway or Router 202.
[0022] In alternative implementations, the router or home gateway
may set up multiple connections to mobile devices 212 in the home
to provide backup internet access. This is shown in FIG. 3. In this
case, multiple Link 1's and Link 2's are established (shown as Link
1a, Link 1b and Link 1c). In this case the router or gateway may
use any of a number of channel bonding algorithms to connect the
Link 2's into a larger "fat pipe" to provide the home or business
with a higher speed backup internet connection.
[0023] In yet other implementations, the system can be also be used
to enhance overall internet speed available to devices connected to
the gateway or router 202. In this scenario, the overall function
of the system is similar to that described above and shown in FIG.
3, but in this case, the primary fixed line connection is
functional and capable of providing access to the internet for the
gateway or router. This scenario is shown in FIG. 4. In this case,
the internet access speed offered by the gateway or router 202 is
increased over and above that which is offered by the primary fixed
line connect. This is achieved by the router or gateway
distributing the internet traffic not only to the Primary Fixed
Line connection, but also bonding Links 1a, 1b and 1c and Links 2a,
2b and 2c as described above with the primary fixed line link to
create a "fatter" pipe, i.e. a connection with greater bandwidth
and throughput, to the Internet 204.
[0024] One or more aspects or features of the subject matter
described herein can be realized in digital electronic circuitry,
integrated circuitry, specially designed application specific
integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)
computer hardware, firmware, software, and/or combinations thereof.
These various aspects or features can include implementation in one
or more computer programs that are executable and/or interpretable
on a programmable system including at least one programmable
processor, which can be special or general purpose, coupled to
receive data and instructions from, and to transmit data and
instructions to, a storage system, at least one input device, and
at least one output device. The programmable system or computing
system may include clients and servers. A client and server are
generally remote from each other and typically interact through a
communication network. The relationship of client and server arises
by virtue of computer programs running on the respective computers
and having a client-server relationship to each other.
[0025] These computer programs, which can also be referred to as
programs, software, software applications, applications,
components, or code, include machine instructions for a
programmable processor, and can be implemented in a high-level
procedural and/or object-oriented programming language, and/or in
assembly/machine language. As used herein, the term
"machine-readable medium" refers to any computer program product,
apparatus and/or device, such as for example magnetic discs,
optical disks, memory, and Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), used
to provide machine instructions and/or data to a programmable
processor, including a machine-readable medium that receives
machine instructions as a machine-readable signal. The term
"machine-readable signal" refers to any signal used to provide
machine instructions and/or data to a programmable processor. The
machine-readable medium can store such machine instructions
non-transitorily, such as for example as would a non-transient
solid-state memory or a magnetic hard drive or any equivalent
storage medium. The machine-readable medium can alternatively or
additionally store such machine instructions in a transient manner,
such as for example as would a processor cache or other random
access memory associated with one or more physical processor
cores.
[0026] To provide for interaction with a user, one or more aspects
or features of the subject matter described herein can be
implemented on a computer having a display device, such as for
example a cathode ray tube (CRT), a liquid crystal display (LCD) or
a light emitting diode (LED) monitor for displaying information to
the user and a keyboard and a pointing device, such as for example
a mouse or a trackball, by which the user may provide input to the
computer. Other kinds of devices can be used to provide for
interaction with a user as well. For example, feedback provided to
the user can be any form of sensory feedback, such as for example
visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input
from the user may be received in any form, including, but not
limited to, acoustic, speech, or tactile input. Other possible
input devices include, but are not limited to, touch screens or
other touch-sensitive devices such as single or multi-point
resistive or capacitive trackpads, voice recognition hardware and
software, optical scanners, optical pointers, digital image capture
devices and associated interpretation software, and the like.
[0027] The subject matter described herein can be embodied in
systems, apparatus, methods, and/or articles depending on the
desired configuration. The implementations set forth in the
foregoing description do not represent all implementations
consistent with the subject matter described herein. Instead, they
are merely some examples consistent with aspects related to the
described subject matter. Although a few variations have been
described in detail above, other modifications or additions are
possible. In particular, further features and/or variations can be
provided in addition to those set forth herein. For example, the
implementations described above can be directed to various
combinations and subcombinations of the disclosed features and/or
combinations and subcombinations of several further features
disclosed above. In addition, the logic flows depicted in the
accompanying figures and/or described herein do not necessarily
require the particular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve
desirable results. Other implementations may be within the scope of
the following claims.
* * * * *